WWE Star Sting Does Not Have Broken Neck, But Career Still in Jeopardy

At WWE Night of Champions 2015 on Sunday, wrestling legend Sting sustained a severe neck injury in his main event world title match with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, after taking a powerbomb into the turnbuckle. The future Hall of Famer struggled to finish the match, and was checked on by doctors, who allowed him to continue. However, in the aftermath of the incident, there were serious rumblings that this could be a career-ending injury for the 56-year-old.

In the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, pro wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer updated the Sting situation by confirming that while Sting’s neck is not broken, it’s still injured. Long story short, Sting was taken to the hospital after Night of Champions, and although it was clear that his neck had been affected, he still displayed the ability to walk, at least. Sting’s exact condition is unknown, but it’s a relief to hear that his neck has not been broken, and that he’s still ambulatory. It’s also encouraging to think that Sting might be cleared to compete again, even if just for one more match.

Credit: WWE

That said, even if Sting were cleared to compete, the expectation is that WWE head honcho Vince McMahon might not let him perform again. This is due to an incident back in September 2012, in which the then-62-year-old Jerry “The King” Lawler went into cardiac arrest following a match on Monday Night Raw. From that point on, McMahon has been cautious about letting older guys compete. Ultimately, while Sting’s neck has not been broken, his career is still very much in jeopardy.

Of course, the Sting situation is made all the more unusual by WWE’s inconsistency in addressing it. Sting had originally been confirmed to appear on last night’s Monday Night Raw show to make a major announcement of some sort. But he ultimately never appeared on the show. To make this whole thing even weirder, the announcement of Sting’s appearance on Raw was made on WWE’s website at 7:00 PM ET, long after WWE would have known, one way or another, whether Sting would actually be able to make the show or not. It’s either a miscommunication internally, or false advertising that got way out of hand.